Mobile Suit Gundam: The Outer Circle (a One Year War side story)
by EnderHero00
Summary: What if the Gundam wasn't the first MS the Federation ever deployed? After all, the deployment of the Gundam was only the first RECORDED MS vs MS battle. I present a story set in the Jupiter Fleet to you, with an original cast and a new, non-Gundam mobile suit. Find out what Tem Ray really wanted from Project V.
1. The Outer Circle

Chapter 1

May 27th, UC. 0079

The space pod ejected fuel from the port thrusters, aligning itself with the airlock hatch on the exterior of the station.

"Welcome to Jovian-01," The onboard speaker blared.

The hatch popped open as two men pushed themselves out into the near-weightless Layer 1 of Jovian-01.

The first was a grizzled old man with a hard-set, square face, wearing a Jupiter Fleet uniform. The second man was much younger, with jet-black hair and donning a EFSF Ensign uniform.

"Thanks for the lift again, Malock," The young man piped up.

"Don't mention it. I'm here to sort out some paperwork with the Zeons about how much Helium-3 they need, and the numbers ain't pretty. It was nothing to give you a ride. Alright, gotta go. I'll see you around, Aros."

Aros bade his farewell and grabbed the nearest mag-rail to Layer 5.

Layer 5 was the size of small town in terms of living area.. As a small elevator trundled up its shaft to reach Layer 3, Aros felt the gravitational pull increase. A maintenance screen cheerfully told him he had reached the 0.3 G zone.

To prevent accidents by falling, any zone beyond 0.4G could no longer use mag-rails as the method of ascending or descending.

Aros got into the capsule lift and watched as Layer 4 whisked by and as the lift trundled to a stop at Layer 5.

"EFSF main building, on Io road," Aros scrunched up his face to look at a crumpled map, "Right here."

Aros pushed through the rotary door and found himself in a simple yet elegant lobby.

"Ensign Aros Epsom, I presume?"

"Yep, that's me." Aros turned around to find a man with a walrus mustache.

"Perfect. Follow me now, or you'll get lost in here. I'm Commodore Blanc."

Blanc led Aros to his office through an ornately designed corridor, "Have a seat, Ensign. You know why I called you here, kiddo?"

"No, sir."

"Alright, I'll cut to the chase. You have piloted a Ball before, am I correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"So we were looking for a Space Force Member with experience with space-use mobile weapons, and you were the only one fitting the criteria."

"The criteria for what, sir?"

"Stop calling me 'sir'. You can call me Blanc. Back to your question, have you perchance seen a large container outside this station on your way here?"

"The big blue one printed with EFSF on the side ? Yeah, I did. Is that relevant, sir… I mean, Mr. Blanc?"

"Yes. Yes it is." He paused here for a second and gazed out of the window, " What if I told you it is a portable hanger with a Federation Mobile Suit in it?"

"A Mobile Suit? Doesn't only Zeon have Mobile Suits like the Zaku?" Aros stood up in excitement.

"Sit down, Ensign. It's a long story."

 _0079 0079 0079_

January 17, UC. 0079

Side 5

The salvage craft cruised toward the Zeon craft's wreckage. Zorran couldn't figure out what ship it used to be, but neither did he care.

"Alright, normal suits on, people."

The Commandos left the salvage craft and dived into the wreckage. What lay in store could be a jackpot or a bust. Zorran grabbed a metal hunk wedged between some crushed debris. A nav-comp CPU. He cracked open the shell. The silicon plate was broken. Worthless.

"Sir… I found something big," Another Commando's voice crackled over the radio.

"Well? What is it?"

"A Mobile Suit, sir. And undamaged by the likes of it."

Zorran let go of the broken CPU.

 _0079 0079 0079_

March 17, UC. 0079

Side 7

"Mr. Ray, we got the Zaku's processor out whole and downloaded the OS."

"Good. We can study it. Later. Put the processor back in for now," Tem Ray responded.

"Excuse my asking, but for what purpose?"

"See those thruster parts and the metal pieces on that truck over there?"

"Yeah?"

"We're making a test unit for the thruster we're going to put on IT."

"It?"

"The ultimate weapon. The Gundam."

 _0079 0079 0079_

April 13 UC. 0079

Side 7

Tem Ray gaze at the lightly armoured mobile suit before him.

"We're gonna have to christen it. Any ideas?"

"Well, while we were replacing the cockpit with one from the Ball, we found a small metal plate with the name 'Jacob' on it."

Tem Ray smiled. "Jacob it is."

And he wrote on the data sheet in his hands, under unit name: MS-06EFSFV "Jacob".


	2. Encounters of the First Kind

Chapter 2

May 30 UC.0079

"Rise and shine, Ensign! Or have you forgotten what we're doing today?"

"Right. I'll get my clothes on in a sec."

Aros stumbled out of his room sleepily in a crudely put-on uniform

"Mr. Blanc, is the mobile suit still in the hangar?"

"Not anymore. You'll be surprised at what innovation the EFSF is still capable of."

Aros had visited the hangar a few days ago. The mobile suit was mostly covered in tarps, but he could see the head pretty well. It reminded Aros nothing of the Zakus he had seen on video, trashing cities. The Zaku's head armour had been replaced with what looked like one of those from the prototype Federation MS plans he had clearance to see. However, two exhaust vents had been added to the jaw area of the helmet, one on each side. The monoeye lay inside the helmet, deactivated.

It would be activated today.

Blanc led Aros all the way up to Layer 1 and into a large docking hatch.

"Right through here."

Aros pushed himself through the hatch, "Sir, no offense, but this is just a civilian-use shuttle craft."

Blanc smiled, "Well then, if you think that's the case, then follow me. Hey, Clara." as he passed a young woman with red hair at the controls.

Aros followed Blanc through the doors to the passenger area, only to find himself in an open space, pitch dark as night.

As soon as his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he realized what lay before him. The shuttle contained a MS hangar, complete with weapon holders.

"Welcome aboard the Mobile Carrier Laban, kiddo.' Blanc chuckled.

 _0079 0079 0079_

"Alright, we'll be reaching the test location in 5 minutes. Now stop messing around with the radio, Aros. This is no longer a neutral zone."

"Right, sir," Aros flipped the switch on the radio system.

Blanc scowled, "I told you to call me Blanc."

The young woman reported, "Entering deceleration mode!" This shuttle quickly turned 180 degress and thrusted in the reverse direction.

"Time to get into the cockpit, Aros."

"On it."

Aros pushed himself off the railing and to the bottom of the hull.

"Don't forget your helmet!" Blanc pushed it down at him.

Aros slotted the helmet over his face, then looked up.

The mobile suit was no longer covered in tarps. The chest armour looked like it had been taken off a tank, and a crude hatch had been welded in on the right-hand side. The arms and legs were lightly armoured, with only a few plate here and there to cover the especially weak spots. As Aros watched, a robotic arm slotted a rectangular shield into place on the bright orange MS-06EFSFV's left arm.

"Won't that unbalance the mobile suit?"

"The Zaku's built-in programming can compensate for it. By the way, the MS has a name. Jacob."

"Hatch door closing." The computer beeped.

Aros quickly got into the cockpit of "Jacob".

"Bay door opening. Pilot please confirm."

"Ready to launch."

"Launching in 1 minute."

The cockpit reminded Aros of his old Ball. Then again, this cockpit was transplanted from a Ball, so nothing special there. Manipulator control was the same, and so was thruster control. The new pedals on the floor would deal with the legs.

"MS-06ESFSV 'Jacob', launching."

"First thing on the agenda, Ensign, is acceleration testing. Towards that asteroid clump there. Remember, ONLY thrust for 5 seconds. Alright?"

Aros pointed Jacob in the right direction, and activated all thrusters. The G-forces made his head swim for a moment, but his training as a Ball pilot had exposed him to worse.

After what seemed like an eternity, Aros decelerated with the thrusters again.

"Great job. We got all the data we need on that. Next… A heat signature?"

"What is it, sir?"

"And at that speed! Aros, get the heat dagger attached to the skirt armour in case..."

"What am I going against?"

The radio crackled with static, "The Minovsky particle density is getting too high! It's a Zeon mobile suit, and from the speed its travelling at, it's no Zaku, boy! You…"The radio crackled to silence.

A warning sign appeared on the cockpit HUD.

"Unknown Mobile Suit Incoming"

"All right. Eject right skirt payload… here." The small metal box attached to the right skirt opened up, revealing a small metal dagger. Aros used the arm gauntlet to move the right manipulator and picked it up.

"W-01 Heat Dagger Electrical Circuits Connected. Do you wish to power up?" The HUD read

Aros pressed "Yes".

A digital zoom opened up an image of the Zeon Mobile Suit. It was pitch black, with had a giant rear-skirt booster and saddle shaped shoulder armor. The head armour was radically different from the Zaku's, with a three pointed star as the eye opening.

The Zeon Mobile Suit's monoeye swiveled around, then locked eyes with the Jacob's zoom. Aros burst into a sweat. He switched the radio back on. Still static.

The Unknown MS changed its orientation and changed it direction to face the Jacob.

"Dammit…" Aros' teeth chattered, "Looks like I'm gonna have to fight you, huh? I hope you can handle this, Jacob."

The black MS grew larger on the HUD.

Aros lifted up the pre-equipped shield to defend the chest area. There was a jolt as a hard object hit…

...and pushed through.

The object was a spear, with a glowing hot tip. It grazed past the front armour equipped on Jacob.

In a moment that lasted for like an eternity, Aros felt he should slash at the spear shaft, but his hand just wouldn't move. A cold drop of sweat rolled down his face.

Then suddenly the moment was over, and something hit the shield really hard. Time resumed its normal pace as Aros floated backward. The mysterious MS had kicked the shield, sending the attached Jacob flying behind it.

Inside the cockpit, a distraught Aros tried his best to calm himself.

Calm down, I just need to make it retreat.

And suddenly, Aros felt himself pushing the thruster throttle as hard as he could, bringing Jacob's shield, now with a glowing hole, up as he did so. There was a jolt, even bigger than the last time, as Jacob rammed the unknown MS at high velocity.

The black MS reeled back, then momentarily regained its composure until Jacob's manipulator gave a right hook to the head, singeing its shoulder armor, and slashed at the spear. The black MS made a wild stab with its heat spear's stump, and hit Jacob in the torso unit.

Aros closed his eyes in preparation of his death.

Instead, there was a crash of glass breaking, air whooshing out and then followed by a complete silence.

The spear had pierced the cockpit unit, breaking the left display screen.

Almost instinctively, Aros swiped the right manipulator up.

"Damn you, bastard!" The heat dagger sliced the black MS's left arm clean off.

Both mobile suits accelerated backwards at top speed to get out of the blast zone. There was a blinding flash of light. As soon as Aros' eyes recovered, the mysterious MS had disappeared.

A visual zoom window opened up. The black MS, now one-armed was retreating off through the asteroid cluster, clutching the spear's stump.

As Aros sat in the cockpit of Jacob recovering his breath, the radio in his helmet crackled and came to life.

"Ensign? Get back here now. That was… something out of this world."


	3. A Vision of the Past

Chapter 3

April 16 UC.0079

Side3/Zeon

Kycilia Zabi was not a patient person. She tapped her feet as the Zimmad representative fumbled with his notes on their new "breakthrough" mobile suit.

Kycilia doubted it would be much of a breakthrough. Mobile Suit development had been stagnant since the Zaku II had been released, and there was not much to break through as the Federation hadn't come up with any new ideas that rendered the Zaku useless. Besides, she had taken a liking to that new mobile suit that Zeonic had shown her a few days ago. The… the… Gouf! Yes, that was right.

Nevertheless, due to appointment by her father, sovereign Degwin Zabi, she had to listen to this idiot.

"Are you ready to present your idea, Mister… Claud? I am a woman with a tight schedule. One that involves meeting Zeonic senior officials." She thought she could see Claud clench his teeth. Good.

"Right. I'll get to it. This is our new mobile suit design." He handed her a plan.

The MS reminded Kycilia of that early Mobile Suit Zimmad had produced in an early bid to have their mobile suit mass-produced. It had blown up in their faces both metaphorically and literally. The head armour was similar to… yes, the Zudah, except the angles were not so sharp and were symmetrical up and down, forming some sort of cross. There was an alternate design nearby, with a three-point-star for the opening.

"So what do you call this prototype, and why should I even consider it?"

"We call it the Dom. On land, it should theoretically be a few times as agile as a Zaku due to its hover mode, and its thrust is over 10% more powerful than the Zaku's in space. But the most important point is versatility. Currently The C and F type Zakus have to be produced separately, but the Dom?

It's a all in one. We are evn considering adding features that allow it to be amphibious."

Kycilia had to admit that was quite impressive.

"So how much do you want?"

"Well, if my Lady is willing, we just require the money to make 2 mobile suits. A testing unit, and the actual product to show its value through a demonstration..."

"I have to interrupt here, but have you even tested the possibility of integrating so many sytems into a single mobile suit?"

"We aren't very sure, but in any case, we believe even if we have to produce land-types and space-types separately, it will still be a better investment than a Zaku."

"Alright. You have my permission and will have adequate funding to produce 2 units. One more thing. Do you mind making the prototype have this head armour?" She pointed to the three-point star opening. "I have taken a liking to it."

"That will be no issue. In fact, our test pilot himself suggested he would prefer this visor."

"The test pilot?"

"Yes. You may have a recollection of him. After all, he once served under you."

"Which person are you talking about? I want a name."

"Right. Vance Gaven."

Kycilia closed her eyes and paused for a moment, "Make the prototype as well as you possibly can. That is an order. I owe Vance an apology for something. This will be my gift to him."

"Noted. Thank you for lending us some of your time, Miss Zabi. "

Claud bowed, and left the room in a hurry.

"Well, that went well."

"Quit joking, Vance. It's time we made you a custom mobile suit."

"Great."

 _0079 0079 0079_

March 26 UC.0079

Tem Ray looked at the photo of his son Amuro on his desk.

The refitting of the Zaku was coming along fine. The workers were quick and efficient in their work, and the chest armour had already been welded on.

Only one thing worried Tem now. His son exhibited the signs of one of the Changed.

Tem Ray thought the word "Changed' was better than what Zeon Zum Deikun had suggested. The word "Newtype" seemed to imply something good. A… evolved person. But no.

The sixth sense possessed by those who had this trait were abnormal and subhuman. And Tem could not allow his son, his only son to be subhuman.

Tem looked again at the stripped-down Zaku.

Everything was going smoothly.


End file.
